As you may remember in May, I decided I need a change of pace and new scenery after graduation, which lead me to the Golden Coast of California. While so many good things happened for me out there (especially in the midst of LSAT prep), it wasn’t what I was looking for. In fact, a lot more was pushed upon my plate than I ever intended or imagined.

While a lot of people in my day-to-day life think I’m crazy for the flip-flop, and many people think “Why would you move away from being so close to LA to go back to the Southeast?” I have to do what is best for me – like any post-grad, college student, or human being should. When I tell people that I’m moving back, they immediately think “It didn’t work out for her” or “It was too hard.” And then some think this was just some minor decision I’ve made without any consideration at all.

Surprise! It’s not. There’s always more to the story.

Just as most post-grads do, we dream up our lives after college. And then if those dreams and ideal images don’t fit into the picture perfect box of hopeful life-after-college expectations, we do what we can to alter them. While I have done everything I can do to keep up with my dreams and expectations, I’ve had a lot of other stuff I never asked for fall onto my plate. See, I moved in with my dad – who is an alcoholic. And with that came tons of things I wasn’t prepared to handle. Every day it seemed like something new would happen or some kind of drama would ensue. Every day I find myself worried about what could happen. And I’ve had enough.

We live in an age of Intervention, Lindsay Lohan’s rehab stints, and constant talk about addictions. It’s life – seriously, who doesn’t know someone who is struggling or once struggled with an addiction? But like anyone who has ever loved someone with an addiction or some kind of life-altering problem, it’s not easy trek – and I’m done. I’m 22, and as much as I want to fix and help my dad, I can’t.

So with the New Year to look towards, I think it’s time for me to put my best shoes on and hit the road once again to see what else is in store for me (especially once those damn LSAT scores come out – yes, I’m still waiting)!

My aunt has been addicted to cheap pink wine fore 13 years. When I was a teenager I remember finding a giant bottle tucked away in the fridge near her bathroom. She used to say, “I just like having a glass before bed…it helps me sleep.” But even then I knew there was more to it than that.

This woman I knew as energetic, happy and fun transformed into a mean, foul being who constantly played the blame-game when she explained why she drank. “Your mother and uncle have always been awful to me…they made me this way.” I never loved my husband…he made me this way.”

Listening to her go on and on was not only angering, but utterly draining. I’d leave her house after a visit and feel exhausted by the toxic energy she spewed at me. It was in that last moment, when I pulled out of her driveway, that I decided I’d never set foot in her house again. 

It’s been four years. And when I received an intoxicated and seemingly heartfelt voicemail from her on Thursday, wishing me a happy birthday, I decided I needed to see her. I knew she would be a mess, my mother and grandmother constantly report her unimproved status on a daily basis. But I wanted to experience her myself. I wanted to see how much worse she’d become, as crazy as that sounds.

I walked in her backdoor with my mom (there was no way in hell I’d go alone) and saw her: hair, a mix of gray and red; face, makeup smeared and layered; body, almost emaciated. She was sweet at first. Her body shaky and weak. But when my uncle came home or my cousin entered the room, she’d shout, “I hate you!” and “You’re worthless.”

It was shocking to see what they were living with. That day she’d thrown my uncle’s laptop computer out the window and destroyed it, just because he wouldn’t pick up wine for her. He called the cops; she got arrested and sat in jail for 4 hours. Of course this was all she talked about. A circling of phrases that sometimes inquired about how I was doing, how my boyfriend was and then back to “Can you BELIEVE I was in JAIL for FOUR hours today!!!!!?????”

Speaking with someone in this state of mind is incredibly unbearable. And seeing how much her addiction has ruined her and her family was almost movie-like. It was so bad it didn’t seem real.

It got me to thinking about how people deal with problems. She has been suppressing years and years of emotional pain and thoughts with alcohol instead of dealing with them head on. She has been missing out on her life because she’s been too afraid to deal with and communicate her concerns, her worries, her dreams.

Life isn’t easy. But it’s overcoming challenges, not hiding from them, that makes us healthy and strong. If what you’re experiencing is too overwhelming, ask for guidance, speak up and surround yourself with happy people. Doing so will ensure that you never find yourself alone at the bottom of a wine bottle.

For most college students, alcohol plays a big role in our 4 (or 5…whatever) years at our respective learning institutions. I mean, with the pressures of school, dating, family, career, it’s understandable why one might want a drink, or 8, at the end of the week to de-stress.

But just how much do you really know about drinking? We all know that Absolut is better than Popov and that beer fills you up faster than rum, but we also claim that liquor before beer and you’re in the clear. Is that the truth? (Editor’s Note: Not this past Saturday night, as evidenced by my hugging the bowl for 3 hours….)

The truth is, there are some myths about alcohol that are perpetuated from student to student, campus to campus, that just aren’t true! We felt the need to debunk them for you ladies so you knew the real deal before you threw back another bottle of wine so you could, you know, drink and not “get too drunk.”

Can girls and guys drink the same amount and get the same outcome? Do bitch drinks (a.k.a diet, fruity drinks) not get you as drunk as regular drinks? Here’s what we found:

Myth #1: Guys and girls of the same height and weight can drink the same amount.

Truth: Girls actually absorb alocohol much faster than men due to a higher ratio of fat to muscle. Which means, girls will probably get drunk faster than dudes. And believe it or not ladies, your period can actually affect your absorption of  alcohol.

Myth #2: Girly drinks, or diet drinks, don’t actually get you drunk.

Truth: A study done by Chris Rayner, M.C. from the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia showed that diet drinks will actually get you more drunk. This is due to the lack of calories in the drink, which will cause it to empty into your stomach faster, thus getting you drunk faster. Depending on what you want, this can be very good, or oh-so bad.

Myth #3: Drinking will make you gain weight.

Truth: Although the infamous “Freshman 15″ is often times attributed to excessive alcohol consumption, this myth is actually not true. After extensive research all over the world, it was found that alcohol did not cause weight gain in men and actually contributed to a weight loss in women. (Probably, cuz they drank too much and puked. But that’s just my guess.) It is the eating that comes with drinking that causes the weight gain.

Myth #5: Alcohol kills brain cells.

Truth: I totally thought it did (if you saw my GPA you’d understand), but, apparently, alcohol does not destroy any brain cells. In fact, alcohol has been associated with improving mental function.

Myth #5: Coffee will sober you up.

Truth: While it may make you feel hella better in the morning, coffee does nothing to a drunk person. Except maybe wake em up. The only thing that can sober you up is time. Alcohol leaves your body at a rate of .015% BAC (blood alcohol level) per hour. So if your BAC is .015, you’ll be sober in an hour, and so on. Not even Starbucks will speed that shiz up.

Word is that the duo met at the Havana Club, an exclusive Beverly Hills cigar club (Because where else would you meet to discuss, like, Jesus and sobriety and crap?) on Tuesday night where they talked for about two hours. Ever the hardcore journalist rag, People reports that Brit was “very quiet with a serious look on her face,” “looked like a doll wearing bright red lipstick,” and was “pretty in her new Capri jeans, a blue blouse, white shoes, and a brown bag.”

Somebody get them a Pulitzer, pronto.

The Spears/Gibson relationship was first brought to the attention of the paparazzi in March when they were seen dining together in a restaurant; then in May, Brit traveled with her pops, Mel, and his wife to Costa Rica where she spent a majority of her time boning up on her tacky swimsuit-wearing skills. Now Mel has apparently gone all Tom Cruise on her ass and is trying to clue her in to Mel Gibson’s Way of the Lord, a.k.a. Old-School Catholicism Meets Gay S&M Porn.

I’m not sure how to feel about this. On the one hand, it wasn’t long ago that Mel was drunk driving and publicly condemning Jews, but on the other hand, his career doesn’t seem to have suffered much and he’s stayed out of the headlines since then. Maybe a little religious fanaticism is exactly what Brit needs right now to keep her sh*t together and get her life back on track. And if that doesn’t work out, she’s still a pretty tight addition to the Gibson Army for when they face off against the Cruise Crusaders.

She’ll choke out Victoria Beckham, easy.

If I was still in college right now, I’d be peeing my pants with excitement over this awesome new development in alcoholism.

The Portopong!

Yes, yes, the summer is almost over (10 days and counting) but if you have access to a pool and a group of fun-loving friends, the Portopong is where it’s at. What college student doesn’t love a good game of pong? And in a pool no less? Yea, how about no less than amazing.

Just to make sure, we’re talking about this kind of pong, not this kind.

The Portopong is inflatable, which means you can squish it in your backpack and head over to the pool party after class. It comes with pool strings, patches for leaks and, if you buy one by tomorrow, it’s 40 bucks – 10 bucks off the normal price.

The only negative thing I can say about the Portopong is, if you’re gonna market to college students, find attractive people to sell your product. I think I see some man boobs.

So, say farewell to summer days with beer pong in the pool! Before you know it, you’ll be “romping” with the best of them.

Have you always imagined beer being a juvenile drink of choice? You know, the first thing you are able to buy with a fake id at the convenience store and the mainstay of colleges across the nation?

I always imagined a “mature” adult being the one to order vodka on the rocks or some sort of hardcore liquor. Well, it’s time for all of us to throw those notions out the window. Recent studies conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have found that adult binge drinkers actually prefer beer, and teens are the ones into the “hard stuff.”

Why might this be?

According to a CNN article, researchers speculate that a possible reason is, “For adults, beer is cheaper and easy to find, sold in gas stations and grocery stores. However, for teens, it may be easier to filch free booze from their parents’ liquor cupboards.”

When I really think about it, the results make sense. It seems so much more exciting and rebellious to drink liquor before you are 21, instead of a plain old beer. Also, in terms of adults, it is socially acceptable to have a beer with dinner or a glass of wine. But, if an adult is like, “Pass me the vodka,” everyone looks at him/her and thinks, “Whoa, what’s wrong with them? They must have had a rough day…”

And just in case you forgot, CNN reminds us that, “Binge drinking — no matter which type of alcohol — is bad for your health. Excessive alcohol is acutely dangerous because of its role in car crashes, violence and other traumatic injury, and is blamed for 75,000 deaths annually.”

Although I find the results of this study interesting, I can’t help but wonder why this study was conducted or funded…Aren’t there more important things we can put our money towards nowadays instead of evaluating our country’s preference of booze when binge drinking?

Just a thought.

What’s your preferred binge drinking method?